Are you feeling lonely? Then you are not alone.
A 2022 survey conducted in partnership between Meta and Gallup across 142 countries shows that 1 in 4 people feel lonely. That’s approximately 77% of the world’s adult population.
The rates of loneliness were highest among young adults aged between 19 and 29 and lowest rates were found among older adults aged 65 and above. At least 27% of young adults reported feeling very or fairly lonely while only 17% of older adults reported the same.
The results of the survey show little difference between the genders, with 24% of both men and women reporting feelings of loneliness.
However, at least 49% of the people surveyed responded that they were not lonely at all, which numbers to 2.2 billion people across the countries surveyed.
These results are 1 of 2 research studies conducted by Meta and Gallup in 2022, which explored people’s sense of connectedness and loneliness.
The second survey on connectedness, whose results were released in October 2023, found that over 7 in 10 adults across 142 countries feel connected to others. That is approximately 72% of people across the world. In every country, with the exception of India and Indonesia, over 60% of people used more than 2 or 3 mediums (emails, text messages, voice calls, video calls, and so on) to connect with people.
Sadly, 6% of people reported not feeling connected at all, which numbers to around 287 million people around the world.
“Taking the steps to practice chatting with those you encounter as you go about your day can pay off. It can make you feel better, boost your mood, and even stave off loneliness,” said Dr. Olivie Remes, a mental health researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK, to CNN.
